September 14, 2012

Despite the disruptions they cause, large wildfires are a mixed
economic bag for nearby communities, according to findings from a
research project by the University of Oregon's Ecosystem Workforce
Program and its collaborators.
Wildfires disrupt the lives of workers, employers and families, and
lead to longer-term instability in local labor markets, the project
funded by Joint Fire Science Program found. But on the flip side of the
coin, countywide employment and wages increase in some sectors during
the wildfires, often mitigating the short-term employment disruptions
wildfires cause.

"The increased spending on services related to fire suppression
efforts certainly does not undo the social and economic damage caused by
a wildfire," said Cassandra Moseley, director of the Ecosystem
Workforce Program and the Institute for a Sustainable Environment.
"But that initial burst of money does offset some of the immediate
economic damage." Moseley said. "How the Forest Service spends its
suppression money greatly influences how a community experiences a
fire."
The UO study found that employment and wages in a county tend to
increase during large wildfires. But those same fires often lead to
longer-term instability in local labor markets, by amplifying seasonal
"ups and downs" in employment over the subsequent year. Among the
sectors most affected in the months following a fire are tourism and
natural resources, which are often vital to the well-being of rural
communities.
There has been little previous research on the effects of large
wildfires on local employment and wages. The study, done in
collaboration with researchers at the U.S. Forest Service, analyzed the
impacts on labor markets as well as the extent of economic relief that
results from spending on fire suppression. The purpose of the study was
to help fire managers, policy makers and community leaders understand
the short- and long-term effects of wildfires so they can better plan
for the challenges and opportunities wildfires present.
The amount of fire suppression money spent by the U.S. Forest
Service in the counties where large wildfires occurred ranged from zero
to 25 percent, but averaged about 6 percent, according to the study. But
rural and resource-dependent counties may take the biggest hit from
wildfires because of their limited capture of fire suppression spending.
The UO research is based on an in-depth case study of the community
economic impacts of a series of wildfires in Trinity County, California,
in 2008, along with Bureau of Labor Statistics and Forest Service data
that compared labor market trends in selected Western counties between
2004 and 2008. The research group will be releasing a number of reports
later this year that detail the study's results.
Source : http://www.eurekalert.org